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Topic: Storage FAQ: General Q&A (Read 14318 times)

I know that this has been a long time coming but I thought that I would answer a few of the frequently asked questions in a single thread in order to hopefully alleviate some of the simpler problems. Note if you finish reading this FAQ and find that you need to post on our forum please read the guidelines so we may better assist you. Without further adieu:

Q: "I've read the FAQ, searched the forums and posted a specific question, but haven't got a response, a little help here?"

A: Please make sure you have included the following in your post:

Model of your device

Firmware version (applies to NAS and even some USB drives)

Include information about other devices/peripherals that are having problems interacting with the device (i.e. device manufacturer and model, IP Address, Operating System, etc.)

Please note that the more complicated the problem then finding the solution may take just as much time. We appreciate your patience and understanding that we try to answer every post in our forum.

Q: "I've found a firmware bug and posted it months ago, the problem (according to the mods) has been addressed but no fix is available, what's going on?"

A: If a problem has been posted and addressed you can rest assured that we are taking the problem into account and a fix will be provided as soon as possible. This process could be a simple workaround such as initialization of the NAS or require a firmware update which takes time to write and debug. We appreciate the patience given in the matter along with the understanding that an immediate solution is not available if that is the case.

NOTE: The firmware is written and distributed separately for each region. In the event you're in the UK and find a firmware bug or make a request here on the forums it will be noted and escalated. However, we have to contact the region from which the post originates and that region needs to escalate to their respective firmware developers. As you can imagine this takes time and the length of time it takes to get a running version of the firmware depends on the complexity of the request. Furthermore, since the firmware developer is in Japan additional time is required for issue translation, coding and debugging in order to make sure future issues are minimized. Your patience is again appreciated in this event.

Q: "I can't find my NAS on the network and I don't have an LCD screen to tell me what it is..."

A: You can install OR run the NAS Navigator tool from the CD that was included with your device. If you didn't receive a CD or have lost it you can find the downloads for your product here. You can search by product name or model number, if you're still having trouble finding the NAS Navi utility you can also download it for either Windows or Mac OS X here. Once you have the NAS Navigator running it will likely tell you if there are errors on the device, IP address problems, etc. You will want to locate the firmware version, if there is none then attempt a firmware update for your respective unit (only do a force firmware update as a last resort).

Q: "My NAS has all of my important data on it what can I do to recover it if it becomes lost?"

A: First and foremost if your data is of great importance to you (pictures, finances, etc.) make absolutely sure you have backed up your data to an alternate location. Redundancy of backup is never a bad thing especially if you cannot risk losing it. Simplest way to look at it is if you wish to lower your odds (it's not mathematically possible to completely eliminate the possibility of data loss) add a backup to your backup. Not only with our NAS and USB external drives can you lower your odds of complete data loss, but also with online backups and hard copy (DVD, Blu-Ray, etc.) you can bring the odds astronomically lower with each backup destination you implement. Data recovery companies have said it and so do we, "The more important the data, the more backups you should have." To answer the question, however it varies between NAS and USB drives usually:

NAS: Since these devices (and the USB HDDs that can be attached) are formatted to XFS (a Linux based file system), then the only way to recover the data is to connect the drives to a computer that runs Linux. This would be a difficult task for some but now a lot of "Live CD" alternatives have been made available in the form of Knoppix and Ubuntu (just to name a couple). I wish to make clear for all that we do not support the recovery of data nor the operation of these data recovery alternatives, they are suggestions provided in the case you do not wish to consult a data recovery center or cannot afford to. Another alternative is you can contact DriveSavers and as a Buffalo customer (US and Canada) receive a 10% discount on your recovery service.

USB: USB drives can be formatted to almost any file system on the planet. XFS and FAT32 for our NAS devices to read and write to, NTFS for Windows and NT based systems and a slew of others related with Mac (HFS and HFS+ just to name a couple). If a HDD is clicking that is usually meaning the read-and-write head of the HDD cannot find its "start point" and is not repairable by normal means. Do not attempt to disassemble your hard drive if it is in warranty. We can replace the HDD under warranty usually as long as the MFG seal on the device isn't broken. The only exception to this rule is, if a certified data recovery facility (DriveSavers or otherwise) has performed a recovery where a HDD had to be removed from the USB shell this is then verified by a proof of services purchase being sent to us during the RMA process (other regions may vary).

NOTE: Under no circumstances shall Buffalo Technology be liable in any way to the user for damages, including any lost profits, lost savings or other incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use of, or inability to use, the Buffalo products. Buffalo Technology reserves the right to revise or update its products, software, or documentation in keeping with technological advances without obligation to notify any individual or entity. The rest of the warranty statement for US and Canadian customers can be found here.

Q: "I am having issues with the timestamps on my files being correct, is this due to the OS I'm using or is this a firmware bug?"

A: Not really, but it does have to do with a setting on the firmware. Make sure that not only your time (24-hour format) and date are set correctly but the GMT as well. Currently, the NAS does not update its GMT automatically even if it is a joined to an NTP server.

NOTE TO AD USERS: The GMT, time and date of the device must be set within 5 minutes (this is not negotiable due to AD constraints) of the AD server. This also means that the GMT, time and date will need to be changed twice a year during DST to compensate for AD server time changes. ex. If the GMT of your AD server is -6:00 and DST is in effect then the GMT will need to be adjusted to -5:00. This is the cause of most AD integration attempts failing as well. Currently, there has been no word on whether the GMT will automatically be updated in future firmware releases.

A: Check and make sure your firmware is the latest available, that the time, date and GMT are set to sync with your AD server (as the NAS does not compensate for Daylight Savings Time) and that your admin credentials you're using to join AD (username and password) do NOT contain special characters. If necessary you might need to add a unique admin with alpha, numeric or alphanumeric credentials for the NAS to join AD.

Q: "Is it possible to download folders via Web Access?"

A: At this time no, I would think this feature to be implemented at some point or another however, the download of entire folders is only possible by utilizing FTP and clients such as FileZilla. We do not support nor troubleshoot the client however I have had a number of our NAS devices work just fine with previous client versions in different OS environments.

A: The issue is that one of the default group policies prevents Windows 7 from accessing or mapping the shares of one our NAS devices. You can easily change this by following these steps:

Go to Control Panel,

Administrative Tools,

Local Security Policy,

Local Policies,

And then Security Options.

In here choose "Network security : LAN Manager authentication level". Modify the settings to "Send LM & NTLM - use NTLMv2 session security if negotiated. " After this you should be able to access the share folders via host name or IP address and map the share to a drive letter.

Q: "Is your unit in another language and you do not know how to change it back? "

A: Depending on your model number and firmware version this can be done in two different ways.

If you have the older firmware with the options on the left hand side, you will see an icon with a piece of paper with the corner folded. Click on this icon and you will see two drop menu's at the bottom of the page. In the first drop down menu, choose English, or your desired language. Then press the button at the bottom that would be apply. After that , in the 2nd drop down menu, change the windows language to the desired language and then press apply again. A reboot of the browser and or NAS may be required.

For the newer units with the navigation at the top you want to go to "system", which his the fourth option from the left. Here you will see three red headers. Expand the bottom one which would be language. Click on the white button that would be modify settings. You will see two drop down menus. In the first drop down menu, choose English, or your desired language. Then press the button at the bottom that would be save. After that , in the 2nd drop down menu, change the windows language to the desired language and then press save again. A reboot of the browser and or NAS may be required.

For the Terastation 3 ISCSI it will be the 2nd menu at the top from the left and then the 4th red head down. The instructions are the same from there.

Q: "Why are there so few questions being answered?"

A: This compilation is a work in progress, more will be posted over time...